So after all that build-up, the Manchester derby didn't quite live up to expectations.

Thursday night's key Premier League clash proved to be a drab affair and a goalless draw leaves us none the wiser as to who will finish the season in the top four.

You can always tell it's been a dull match when Claudio Bravo catching a corner prompted one of the biggest cheers of the night.

In a game of few chances, Jose Mourinho will be feeling fairly satisfied his 10 men were able to survive a late onslaught of Man City attacks.

That was partly down to the fine performances of his defenders and more specifically, Eric Bailly.

Being the Red Devils' only fit recognised centre-back at the moment has put a significant amount of pressure on the summer signing's shoulders but he has handled it impressively.

While his centre-back partners have been dropping like flies, Bailly has shown and consistency and composure well beyond his 23 years.

His statistics from last night's Manchester derby might appear nothing out of the ordinary at a first glance.

The Ivory Coast international made just three interceptions, four clearances and two blocks according to Squawka.

However, a video of his highlights from the game has emerged and reveals much more about his importance to the result.

Man United have struggled to settle on a really dominant centre-back pairing since the days of Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic but Bailly showed attributes of both of the former Old Trafford favourites against City.

As you can see in the video below, Bailly is brilliant at reading the game. He is able to get himself into the perfect position to intercept dangerous through ball and crosses - a regular feature of his performance in the early stages in the video.

Similarly to the type of tackles Vidic used to make, Bailly also put in a couple of great sliding challenges on Leroy Sane (0:20 and 1:12).

But there are also shades of Ferdinand in Bailly.

While the rest of his teammates were terrible at picking a pass, on the rare occasions United actually had the ball, Bailly showed much more composure and awareness to retain possession.

When the simple pass was on he took it but the former Villarreal star wasn't shy to play a bit riskier through the middle (1:19) if necessary.

At the start of the season, Bailly joined the Red Devils as somewhat of an unknown quantity but he has become one of Mourinho's most consistent stars at a critical part of the campaign.

With Marcos Rojo out for the season and Chris Smalling and Phil Jones still returning to fitness, an injury to Bailly right now could have disastrous consequences for Mourinho in the pursuit of Champions League football next season.